IRBIL, Iraq ó Insurgents inspired by al-Qaeda rapidly pressed toward Baghdad on Wednesday, confronting little resistance from Iraqís collapsing security forces and expanding an arc of control that now includes a wide swath of the country.

With the fall of Mosul on Tuesday, Iraqís al Qaeda offshoot has not only seized the countryís second-largest city, it appears it also has come into possession of the heavy weapons and vehicles the U.S. military had provided Iraqís military to fight them.